


In The Face Of Treachery

by TheLittleMuse



Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Pre-Slash, Suicidal Thoughts, This was supposed to be fluffy I swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-15
Updated: 2013-01-15
Packaged: 2017-11-25 15:03:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/640113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLittleMuse/pseuds/TheLittleMuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bilbo has been banished and Thorin lies still sleeping in a healer's room. Bilbo prepares to walk the lonely road back to the Shire alone and Thorin wakes and realises the consequences of what he has done.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In The Face Of Treachery

It takes a long time for a hobbit to fall in love.

They love, once they have it, fiercely and forever.

Bilbo’s love for Thorin had grown quietly and slowly. At first it had been a strange desire to prove himself to this ragtag bunch of dwarves and to experience the world he had dreamed of as a boy. Then, slowly, he had made friends among the dwarves, in battles where they had fought side by side and by the fire, where they had exchanged songs and stories.

And slowly, oh, so slowly, it had become about Thorin.

He had wanted to prove himself to Thorin, he wanted to hear Thorin’s story around the fire, hear Thorin’s songs. Thorin who constantly criticised Bilbo. Bilbo had treasured the odd compliments and _that_ hug like bones flung to a particularly desperate dog. 

It had always been doomed to fail, really.

He would have given his life for Thorin Oakenshield. In the end he gave something much, much worse.

The Arkenstone.

It had been either a moment of madness or a moment of sense when he had stolen the Arkenstone, he’s still not quite sure. He had wanted peace for Thorin Oakenshield, he had wanted Thorin to rule long and well as King Under The Mountain.

He had what he wanted, but he also had Thorin’s everlasting hatred.

He was dead, so what did it matter either way? He was dead if attempted to return to the Shire on his own and he was dead if he returned to Erebor.

What did death matter in the face of his treachery?

Bilbo stood at the edge of Erebor, unwilling to leave quite yet. He faced two choices, attempt to return to the Shire and face death by starvation or the hands or teeth of another, or he could return to Erebor and find a swift death in Thorin.

But there was a possibility, remote as it was, that he might one day reach the Shire once more. He might one day recover.

And so, with that thought in mind, Bilbo Baggins started to walk.

…

There was a collective sigh in the healer’s room as Thorin’s eyes flickered open, “Fili … Kili,” he muttered.

“Injured, but alive,” said Balin.

“The Halfling?”

“You banished him,” said Balin, a little quieter. They had all been angry, but once the battle was finished and the anger cooled they realised that Bilbo had truly been trying to help and they were too fond of their hobbit-burglar to abandon him, but Thorin’s words could only be undone by Thorin.

“Banished?” came a voice from the corner of the room. It was Gandalf, “You mean to say that Bilbo Baggins is at this moment on the road with no protection?” he didn’t wait for an answer, “Dispatch search parties. Find him. Now.” Gandalf wasn’t technically able to order them, but that didn’t stop them obeying as Gandalf led the way.

“Well that’s got them out the way. Shame to loose that Gandalf fellow though, he was a help,” said one of the healers. The other just grunted in response. Thorin ignored them.

A few words. A few mindless words, spoken in anger and he had possibly killed his hobbit.

His hobbit. True and untrue. Bilbo was – is part of his Company, and always would be. They were always bound, his Company, by a contract and a love, no matter what his foolish words. But his hobbit, he knew now. Beyond his duty his urge to always protect his burglar, and when Bilbo had done the same for him, leaping in front of his body, the fear, the admiration, the realisation. _Loyalty, Honour, A Willing Heart._

Too late, Thorin Oakenshield, too late to realise.

What was it that is father had said? _Never start a feud whilst in anger. Wait until the calm of the storm approaches_. He had never understood, but he had never dared question his father either and his words had been forgotten.

Bilbo had saved him with theft, but he had only seen betrayal and he had offered him banishment and death as his reward.

If Bilbo was alive he might have hope, but if Bilbo were dead he would never be fit to be called King Under The Mountain.


End file.
